The colliery is an opencast operation consisting of a north pit and a south pit. Both pits support a dragline operation and are assisted by a pre-strip truck and shovel fleet.
The main equipment used in the pits includes two draglines, hydraulic shovels, haul trucks, dozers, excavators, rotary drills, water bowsers and cranes with the required ancillary support equipment. The mine layout was designed to suit the available mining equipment.
The revised mining schedule accelerates the mining of the south pit due to lower costs, with reserves converted to resources outside mine plan (RoMP) in the north pit, due to constraints in the financial and economic modifying factors related to the CSA with Sasol coming to an end in 2025. A potential new CSA is currently being discussed.
The remaining LOM is estimated at three years with total ROM reserves of 12.6Mt. There are no Inferred Coal Resources included in the LOM plan. The terms of the supply agreement with Sasol determines the LOM. The main target coal seam is the No 4 Seam, although the No 5 Seam.
The open pit is designed for dragline operations and in the case of the North Pit the dragline is assisted by a prestrip truck shovel operation. The blocks are designed at 60 m wide by 150 m long.
The mining method in the North Pit is designed to mine a combined total thickness of approximately 65 m which is split into approximately six metres of soft overburden material mined w ........